Downtown Atlanta Summary

Pros

Home to several sports venues, beautiful Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center and the World of Coca-Cola

Historic Underground Atlanta is full of shops, bars and restaurants

Cons

Traffic can be bad during rush hours

Crowds

Finding a parking spot is almost an odyssey

Frequent conventions cause hikes in hotel rates

Humid summers

What It's Like

Once sparsely populated and somewhat seedy, Downtown Atlanta now draws crowds year-round. The neighborhood started as a business and financial hub (and it still is), but it has slowly become one of the most interesting areas in the city for tourists as well as for locals. Hotels, shops and restaurants are everywhere you look, housed mostly in gleaming skyscrapers. You can enjoy a walk in the Centennial Olympic Park in the morning, stop for lunch in one the neighborhood’s great restaurants, visit the CNN Center or the World of Coca-Cola, and see a game in the Georgia Dome without even having to leave the neighborhood. There’s so much to do and see here that it’s become a destination in its own right.

Where To Stay

For easy access to the Georgia Dome, the CNN Center, and the Centennial Olympic Park (to name a few), stay in the area closest to Five Points (the intersection formed by Peachtree Street with Forsyth, Marietta and Broad streets).